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Authors: Toni Blake

BOOK: All I Want Is You

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“She tried the little golden key in the lock,

and to her great delight, it fitted.”

Lewis Carroll,
Alice in Wonderland

Epilogue

“I
LOVE
you, too, Grandpa Charlie,” Christy said, then pushed the disconnect button on her phone, leaned back in the white wicker chair on her porch, and peered out over the ocean. It was a clear, sunny, blue-Âsky day and the surf was calm and the view never got old. Just one more reason, of many, to be happy.

She could scarcely believe the conversation she'd just had with her grandpa. Soon after she and Jack had moved down here to Coral Cove a few months ago, he'd spent a long afternoon on the pier with her and Jack telling them about Susan, his first love who had amazingly ended up at Sunnymeade with him, but in a coma. And just now he'd called to tell her of one more miracleâÂthis morning Susan had opened her eyes. And she'd said his name. And she'd been aware of all the time he'd spent at her side. Christy had never heard her grandfather sound more giddy or youthful.

She couldn't wait to tell Jack, but he was inside, in the office they'd created from a spare bedroom in the little green cottage they'd bought on Sea Shell Lane, directly across from Fletcher's place. He was making calls to clients this afternoon, so she'd promised to leave him alone. But it had been a big day already, and she was having trouble containing herself.

In addition to Grandpa Charlie's incredible news, she'd gotten some other phone calls, too.

Bethany had just been given the art showing she'd been dreaming of, at a downtown Cincinnati gallery. And Christy had talked her into coming down for a celebratory vacation in a few months.

And Anna had called to tell her Duke had just proposed! They were planning a simple wedding on the lawn of their inn in Destiny, the Half Moon Hill Bed and Breakfast, next spring, so Christy and Jack would definitely need to make a trip home for that. She couldn't have been happier for her dear friend.

And last but far from least, she'd confirmed two new consignment clients today, an upscale clothing and jewelry shop on Clearwater Beach and a hotel gift shop in St. Petersburg. Meanwhile, sales continued to soar, and she was having no trouble making her loan payments and sending payments to Sunnymeade as well. Of course, having combined households with Jack made finances a lot easierâÂthere was no denying thatâÂbut she still truly believed she could have done this on her own if she and Jack hadn't gotten back together.

All in all, life in Coral Cove was amazing. She loved living at the beach, and she and Jack had returned to the secluded spot where they'd first made love more than once to recreate the moment. It was wonderful being so close to her grandpa, and close to other friends they'd made here, too. They still frequented the Hungry Fisherman, and tomorrow Reece was taking them out for another snorkeling trip. Tonight, after the Sunset Celebration, they had plans to meet up with Fletcher, Tamra, and some of the other residents of Sea Shell Lane for a bonfire and marshmallow roast on the beach.

She loved their little beach cottage andâÂoh, the simple joy of being able to turn the key in the lock and always be able to get inside!

“And then there's you,” she said, glancing down at the fluffy white cat who had just trotted up to weave a figure eight around her ankles. She bent to heft Dinah up beside her in the chair. “You don't have to scavenge for fish remains anymore, and Jack and I get to have a furry friend around the house. I think that worked out well for all of us, don't you?”

Dinah meowed, and Christy scratched behind her ears the way the kitty liked. Dinah, it turned out, was the perfect last piece of the puzzle, the final ingredient in her joyful new life that made it .Â .Â . perfect.

Though of course the best part of her life in Coral Cove was Jack. A little faith between them had gone a long way. So far that it wasn't even necessary to think about it anymoreâÂit was simply this soft but solid thing that floated all around them.

And with Jack she'd already found what she'd declared to Bethany made for the perfect love: He made her feel safe without saving her. She'd saved
herself
. And she'd fallen in love with a great guy in the process. What more could a girl want?

Well, the beach maybe. But she had that, too.

About the Author

USA Today
bestselling author TONI BLAKE's love of writing began when she won an essay contest in the fifth grade. Soon after, she penned her first novelânineteen notebook pages long. Since then, Toni has become a RITAÂ®-nominated author of more than twenty contemporary romance novels, her books have received the National Readers Choice Award and the Bookseller's Best Award, and her work has been excerpted in
Cosmo
. Toni lives in the Midwest and enjoys traveling, crafts, and spending time outdoors. Learn more about Toni and her books at www.toniblake.com.

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By Toni Blake

A
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ECKLESS
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UMMER

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TTERS TO A
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EMPT
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ONIGHT

S
WEPT
A
WAY

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and areÂ not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, Âorganizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright Â© 2014 by Toni Herzog. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

EPub Edition JUNE 2014 ISBN: 9780062229489

Print Edition ISBN: 9780062229526

FIRST EDITION

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